Welcome to Saturday’s edition of the RaceFans round-up.
Comment of the day
Although Aston Martin had a disappointing season last year, Lawrence Stroll deserves respect for investing to make them genuine competitors, says Michael:
Aston Martin’s investments in their new facilities stand in stark contrast to the lackluster approach taken by Haas, Williams, Sauber, Red Bull II (a few ‘coincidental’ relocations of their staff to ‘certain’ facilities in Milton Keynes notwithstanding), or indeed even by the much bigger manufacturer Renault.
Stroll, whatever misgivings one might have about his belief in his son, is making a serious effort here.
MichaelN
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Gusm.ai
18th January 2025, 1:36
Sorry, but while Stroll is a AM driver, the team cant be taken seriously.
Hiring Newey is, at best, an event-driven opportunity to attract investor and allow for Stroll senior to get its exit.
S
18th January 2025, 5:34
That’s like saying that Ferrari couldn’t be taken seriously because they never paired Schumacher with an ‘A’ level team-mate. Red Bull and Mercedes have both done exactly the same thing – clearly they weren’t serious either.
Despite those three teams winning most of the WCC’s and WDC’s over the last 25 or so years….
Or is it just the family connection that bothers you?
Jos Verstappen and Anthony Hamilton may not ‘own’ their son’s teams, but they’ve both been just as involved in their kids’ careers. Including through funding them and creating opportunities. Same can be said for every other driver, and not just in F1.
So what is the problem exactly?
El Pollo Loco
18th January 2025, 7:00
Not much thinking went into this post, huh?
MichaelN
18th January 2025, 13:26
While there are clear upgrades over Lance Stroll to be had, Aston Martin is at least pairing him with Vettel and Alonso – who had six WDCs between them. They’re not propping him up by putting Sargeant in the other car. That said, I think Lawrence Stroll is wrong that Lance is going to learn from the best and could be champion if he gets the right car. But be that as it may, Lance Stroll is far from the only guy who has his drive for what might be called secondary reasons.
There is a risk in this though. Suppose Aston Martin was a bit better in 2023 and Red Bull a bit worse. Alonso might have had a real chance to take the title. You can’t predict that, and in such a case, Stroll would become a liability for sure – same as Pérez this previous year.
Craig
18th January 2025, 14:55
I’m not sure if Lance has learned anything from Seb or Fernando. He’s not bad per say and has his moments but he does have a habit of making embarrassing mistakes and really doesn’t seem to have really improved overall.
Jere (@jerejj)
18th January 2025, 6:27
Plot to literally take over F1 from LM? Good luck with that.
Bullfrog (@bullfrog)
18th January 2025, 18:38
Subscription Required? Daily Mail?! Good luck with that, too.
SteveR (@stever)
18th January 2025, 19:22
Two articles from the Daily Mail in a week. Talk about bottom feeding.
John
18th January 2025, 22:18
Feels like we are on the verge of a big surprise soon. Like an engineering change that is brillant that no one expected. Cant wait.